Backstory – Best Mother’s Day Gift I was at a loss to choose a gift for my mom for Mother’s Day.  Like most mothers of adult children, she has everything.  Yet she has meant so much to me, that I wanted to gift her with something befitting her status in my heart.  Then a thought […]

Backstory – Mom’s Wedding Hat Out in the country where we live, auctions have always been a big deal.  You never know what to expect. You may find treasures offered – or collections of mayonnaise jars.  There could be dozens of locals and household items go for pennies on the dollar – or the city […]

Backstory – Babies’ Futures Grandparents are so excited when a new grand-baby arrives.  Imagine my sister’s delight – and amazement – when she found out that three grand-babies were on the way.  Three of her children were pregnant and delivered a boy child within a month or two of each other. It was quite an […]

Backstory – Invisible Some deeds get a lot of credit . . . Others are done quietly, behind the scenes, invisibly.  Which do you do?  Neither one is better; just different. I have always been more interested in being the wizard behind the curtain; creating the situations that make something good happen, rather being the […]

Backstory – Reunion Looking at your Christmas card list often reminds you of friends or relatives  with whom you have lost contact.  It probably evokes a determination to make the effort to see this person, followed by no action in that direction.  You can even imagine the other person having the same intentions and neglect.  […]

Backstory – How’s Your World? We Americans are being accused of whining these days. Regardless of your political affiliation, the cries of incompetence, self-interest and politicizing are rampant in each direction. Yet as I look at my friends and relatives, we are all living quite well.  While there could be improvements, we are fortunate to […]

Backstory – Elder Sayings As the years have vanished, I realize how different the aging process is today, compared to how it took a toll on my mom and her mom.  Take this incident, for example. My grandmother stepped off the bus.  I was just barely a teenager and was hanging out on that corner […]

Backstory – Dirty Laundry I explain that this moral-based story takes place during a time when clothes hung “out on the line.”  That was so long ago, that some of you may not relate to what that even means.  You may never have experienced the joy of tugging a basket of clean, wet clothes out […]

Backstory – The Distant Grandma Please send your thoughts about how grandmothers today stay in touch with their grand-kids, when they live far away.  It’s a challenge faced by so many of us.  Today’s story includes some good ideas about ways to do it.  Please let us know what you do, or share a good […]

Backstory – Train that left the Station This story was a delight to write, because it is MY story, our story, his story.  Bill and I met when I invited him to join the Rotary Club, an international service organization. Their motto is Service Above Self.  He was attending a business expo.  The local Rotary […]